May 2 2007
The NanoBusiness Alliance today announced that its 6th annual NanoBusiness 2007 conference held in New York City recently was its most successful to date, despite weathering the "perfect storm" that dumped inches of rain on the city, closed all area airports due to dangerously high winds, and made transportation nearly impossible. Hundreds of CEOs, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, government officials and investors endured every business traveler's nightmare of delayed, cancelled or rerouted flights, with many stranded at airports for hours on end.
Despite that, the nanotech community showed its spirit and commitment to the conference as event participants waited out the storm and its resultant travel delays, and finally arrived at the Marriot Marquis hotel to join in three intensive days of meetings, presentations, keynotes and networking events.
"Although this 'perfect storm' could have crippled other events, NanoBusiness 2007 was our most successful conference to date," said Sean Murdock, Executive Director of the NanoBusiness Alliance. "This not only underscores the importance of our event within the industry, but also speaks volumes in regard to the courage, character and commitment of the nanotechnology community."
Although the storm did affect attendance at the pre-conference on Sunday, April 15th, executives continued arriving throughout the night, and the event kicked into high gear first thing Monday morning as CNBC broadcast its "Squawk Box" program live from NanoBusiness 2007. For three hours, host Becky Quick provided viewers with a comprehensive look at how nanotechnology is impacting business across a variety of sectors, and interviewed many of the event's main participants, including Sean Murdock; Dr. Ray Johnson, Sr. VP and CTO of Lockheed Martin; Wilbur Ross, Jr., billionaire investor and Chairman/CEO of WL Ross & Co; William Moffit, CEO of Nanosphere; and Dr. BJ Stanberry, CEO of HelioVolt.
Following two days of in-depth presentation on nanotech's role in medical diagnostics, solar energy, green architecture, auto emissions, memory, and displays; as well as investment forums focused on public companies, electronics, cleantech, medicine, and advanced materials, NanoBusiness 2007 concluded in appropriate fashion with a closing bell ceremony at NASDAQ on Tuesday, April 17th. Executive Director Sean Murdock led a group of 30 CEOs and other nanotech industry leaders to the NASDAQ Market Site, where they participated for the first time in this prestigious event.
"When we first launched our NanoBusiness conferences 5 years ago, the markets were still trying to assess whether or not nanotechnology was 'real' from an investment standpoint," said Vincent Caprio, Event Director and Vice President of the NanoBusiness Alliance. "However, five years later, that NASDAQ would honor our community with a closing bell ceremony is validation that nanotechnology has indeed arrived on 'the street' in a huge way."